1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to improvements to dredges and in particular to dredges of the type for removing sand, mud, or other material from the bed of a river, sea, bay or other like areas.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional dredges usually employ a floating structure such as a barge which supports a dredging assembly which may include a crane having a bucket which is lowered into engagement with say the bed of a river to scoop up material therefrom while in other arrangement, the dredging assembly may comprise a rotatable bucket wheel on one end of an arm which is pivotally supported on the floating structure so as to be moveable into engagement with the river bed and a suction duct is associated with the bucket wheel to convey displaced material to the surface or a remote location. The conventional arrangements including the above have a number of limitations particularly in the depths to which they can operate and furthermore such arrangements are not suited to use in confined areas. Generally, also, such known configurations are structurally large and therefore costly. Furthermore, conventional bucket wheel dredging systems do not function efficiently particularly in slewing operations as only one side of the bucket wheel effectively functions while the suction duct draws in material and water from both sides of the wheel.